Forum focuses on redrawing legislative districts

The La Crosse Area Development Corporation, otherwise known as LADCO held a forum regarding legislative districts.

The meeting, gathered business leaders from the community at the Radisson Hotel Ballroom to talk about what Wisconsin should do in response of the Federal Court order to redraw legislative districts.

This action isn't new, it occurs every 10 years due to the Baker v. Carr Supreme Court Case in 1962.

James Hill, Executive Director of the La Crosse Area Development Corporation said it stresses that states should have "one person, one vote."

"This is actually at it's root, a discussion about democracy. And in our state, I think it's true in the upper Midwest, good government has been equated with good business," said Hill.

Bill Feehan, Chair of the La Crosse County Republican Party was a key note speaker at the meeting. He said the in-house method inside the legislature has been used in Wisconsin for decades and he feels it works just fine.

"Ultimately, the reason political power changes is because one party overreaches or they fail in a way that voters don't like and that's usually when you see these big changes," expressed Feehan.

The Federal Court recently handed down a ruling ordering new lines to be drawn by November 2017.